Presenters

These skilled and knowledgeable people generously contribute time and experience to make SolarFest a unique educational experience.

Bob Atchinson; 350VT
Bob lives in Plainfield, VT, in a modest, energy star plus house he helped design that is heated with a drain-back solar array and a B100-fueled boiler. Electricity is generated for household and a Smart EV and a C-Max plug-in hybrid by 7.4 kW of solar PV array. A biodiesel blend powers the diesel work truck. Bob holds degrees from the University of Vermont, Johnson State College, and VT Technical College. Bob was certified as an energy auditor in 1988 while working as lead technician for the SEOO low-income weatherization program. He has also completed training in small wind technology, photovoltaic design and installation, is a solar provisional partner at REVt, and holds a solar consultant certificate with NABCEP.

Bob presently works for the VT Agency of Transportation as a Program Coordinator and GIS technician, and for GoSolarNE as a solar consultant. Since 2008, he has been the Town Energy Coordinator for Plainfield, working on weatherization and renewables projects, including the design and project management of a 9.9 kW solar array to offset the power for the municipal building, and the installation of a EV charging station in town. In partnership with 350VT, Plainfield voters unanimously passed a resolution on town meeting day to commit to 90% renewable energy by 2040. For many years, Bob has been an active member of 350VT, (CVCA node), VT Energy and Climate Action Network (VECAN), and Renewable Energy VT (REVt); and continues the efforts to make a difference to reverse the course of Climate Change on our Planet Earth. He has attended 350 VT trainings and participates in local, state, and national non-violent demonstrations and actions whenever possible.

Kevin Bailey; High Peaks Solar, LLC
kbailey@highpeakssolar.com www.highpeakssolar.com
Kevin’s interest in solar energy began while still a student volunteering at SolarFest. Now he owns High Peaks Solar, where he is the Lead System Designer, and was an adjunct professor at HVCC responsible for training the next generation of certified solar installers. Kevin also founded The Sky Is Not Limited, a non-profit organization that provides drinking water infrastructure to impoverished nations. Begun in 2010, today the “well project” he built provides fresh, bacteria-free drinking water for an entire village in remote Tanzania, Africa.

Amy Beaudet; altE Store
amy@altEstore.com www.altEstore.com
Amy has been in the solar industry at the altE Store since 2007. She’s been a sales rep, an instructor, and an all-around solar evangelist, sharing her passion for solar around the world. When not at work, she’s either sailing or skiing, depending on the season, but odds are good she’s still talking about solar on the boat or on the slopes.

Alex Beck atlasbeck@gmail.com
Alex studied and worked in rural sustainable development in Ecuador, China, Liberia, and Rwanda, until settling in Brattleboro, Vermont, at the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation, Windham County’s regional development group. As a workforce specialist, he trains, supports, retains, and recruits the millennial and young professional population the Vermont economy needs to thrive.

Darryl Benjamin; Real Food Seminars
darryl@realfoodseminars.com www.realfoodseminars.com
Author, Lecturer, and Professor, Darryl Benjamin is passionate about sustainable food and nature, and cares deeply about social justice. His book, Farm to Table: The Essential Guide (Chelsea Green), co-written with Chef Lyndon Virkler, was published in October 2016. Benjamin lectures and blogs on sustainable food systems. He holds an MFA in Writing as well as a Certificate of Leadership in Sustainable Food Systems from the University of Vermont. He is founder of Real Food Seminars and The GMO Breakthrough Education Project, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming global food systems through education. Benjamin teaches in the Online MS in Sustainable Food Systems and Master of Science in Resilient and Sustainable Communities’ grad programs at Green Mountain College. Benjamin taught writing, marketing, and sustainable food issues at New England Culinary Institute for seven years. Presently, Darryl blogs on The Future of Food, delivers workshops nationally and internationally on Farm-to-Table challenges and solutions, and is a consultant on developing sustainable food programs both in business and academic environments.

Alan Benoit, AIA; Sustainable Design, LLC.
Alan@sdvermont.com SustainableDesignofVT.com
On the surface, Alan Benoit is an award-winning architect in Manchester Center. But, one does not have to dig too deep to see that his roots are grounded in the garden. He became a Master Gardener in the late 1990s and completed a 3-year Certificate in Native Plant Studies at the New England Wildflower Society in the year 2000. Upon purchasing a home in 2001, Alan and his wife, Nancy, started from scratch, creating a landscape which is not only beautiful, but also integrates the principles of Permaculture. Filled with perennial food crops and native plants, their tiny yard creates habitats, attracts benificials and produces food year-round. Their gardens were featured in Organic Gardening magazine in 2013, Country Gardens magazine in 2017 and were a crowd favorite of 2016’s Manchester garden tours. Alan has been giving presentations for many years, hosting about 50 free educational talks at the Northshire Bookstore, the Manchester Community Library and other local venues.

Steven E. Berry; Pace e Bene
steven.berry@globalmeetinghouse.org www.paceebene.org
Steve Berry is a pastor, teacher, author, activist, and former legislator in the state of Vermont. He received his MDiv from Yale University where he was a teaching assistant for Henri Nouwen. He is the recipient of the Ralph Bunche Peace Award and other awards including one from the Vermont Secretary of the State. Working with human rights pioneer Jack Healey he introduced a Resolution for Vermont to honor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and helped make Vermont the first state to call for reversing Citizens United. He is on the Board of SolarFest and Pace e Bene.

John F. Blittersdorf; Rob Stubbins Electrical & Solar
john.blittersdorf@gmail.com www.robstubbinselectrical.com
Having lived off-grid for 40 years at all levels of technology and comfort, John Blittersdorf has gained an insight of what is involved with off-grid living, and the different paths people can take for the end result they are looking for. His first cabin had one solar panel, a couple of batteries and a few fluorescent lights and he now has a 1600 sf house with all the amenities. He has worked in the residential solar industry for 22 years and 9 years previous to that in the wind industry. He sold his business to Rob Stubbins Electrical in 2016 as is employed there as their residential solar NABCEP Certified Solar PV Professional. He is responsible for over 400 PV installations in VT, NY and NH.
As an owner of a 2008 Prius with 333,000 miles on it and a solar powered golf cart that has been at SolarFest for nearly a decade, he has become enamored with electric propulsion. Offered a chance to Drive a Chevy Bolt 1300 miles each way to the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Custer, WI, he jumped at the chance to gain experience with electric vehicles. Solar Customers have often asked questions about electric vehicles and gaining firsthand experience on this trip has answered many questions in his own mind about the technology. His motto has always been that “he would not sell anything unless he has used it himself” so now he is ready to share his experience.

Dave Bonta; Sundeavor/USA Solar Store dave@usasolarstore.com
Dave has been working in the renewable energy industry since 2001. He lives off grid with both solar electric and solar hot water on his own home and has helped countless individuals incorporate solar energy into their homes and businesses.

David Borton; Sustainable Energy Systems
bortond@susensys.hudmo.org www.solarsal.solar
After college David and his bride of 2 weeks taught math and physics in Ghana in the Peace Corps. Two years later they went to graduate school in physics where David got a Ph D and Harriet got a masters and 2 children. Following grad school, much of David’s career was on dish solar research. In 2014 after 33 years of teaching solar energy engineering at RPI, he retired to build 100% solar powered (patent pending) boats. Two boats are currently in use; the third boat, under construction, will be a 44-foot US Coast Guard Inspected commercial touring vessel, a first in the US, first for the US Coast Guard.

Meg Bouchard; Theater in the Woods Vermont Co.
meg.bouchard@gmail.com theaterinthewoodsvt.org
Meg is an artist, director and collaborator interested in theater as a vehicle for social change. She works with Falconworks, a theater organization whose goal is to educate and explore social, race and class issues through theater.

Elizabeth Freeman Calabrese, AIA; Calabrese Architects
liz@calabresearchitects.com www.calabresearchitects.com
Elizabeth is a licensed architect, LEED AP, WELL AP, WELL Faculty and a Global Affiliate for the Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont and has been in the design industry over for 30 years with national and international projects to her credit. Elizabeth is a leading educator of biophilic design and believes that ecology and biophilia belong at the foundation and core of professional design programs. As a consultant, she encourages a holistic, integrated, “eco-system” approach when incorporating biophilia into projects including those seeking Living Building Challenge and WELL Building certifications. Elizabeth co-authored The Practice of Biophilic Design in 2015 with Dr. Stephen Kellert (1943-2016) the pioneer of Biophilic Design available at www.Biophilic-Design.com.

Melissa Chesnut-Tangerman; Theater in the Woods Vermont Co.
theaterinthewoodsvt@gmail.com theaterinthewoodsvt.org
Melissa is a founder of SolarFest and served many roles in the organization from 1995-2015, including directing and/or acting in many Theater in the Woods plays. She is also a member of the SolarFest Advisory Board.

Nicole Cormier, RD, LDN;The Local Juice / Delicious Living Nutrition
nicole@deliciouslivingnutrition.com www.thelocaljuice.com www.deliciouslivingnutrition.com
Nicole Cormier, is a Registered Dietitian, author and local food enthusiast, dedicated to inspiring her clients and community to manage their energy and life in a way that creates positive relationships with food and supports long-term wellness. Nicole earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts and completed her post-graduate training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate. Through her nutrition counseling company, Delicious Living Nutrition, Inc., Nicole works with individuals and families on individualized nutrition plans to create better overall health. She also co-founded The Local Juice, Cape Cod’s first cold-pressed juice company that uses produce purchased from farms within a 100-mile radius, grown using organic practices whenever possible. She is the author of Nutrition from the Ground Up, The Everything Guide to Nutrition, The $5 A Meal Vegetarian College Cookbook and 201 Organic Smoothies & Juices for a Healthy Pregnancy, and co-author of The Everything Juicing Book.

Glenn Cratty; Campaign Nonviolence
paceglenn@mail.com www.campaignnonviolence.org
Glenn is a counselor and activist who at a young age began to practice Active Nonviolence as a path to living his life. He has been deeply influenced by Quaker activism and spirituality and by Dorothy Day of the Catholic Worker. He was involved with the Clamshell Alliance, Jonah House and Philip Berrigan, the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign and Witness for Peace, which took him to Nicaragua. He is a trainer with the War Resisters League and is active in Pace e Bene and their efforts to build a culture of nonviolence through Campaign Nonviolence.

Amy Cunningham; Vermont Arts Council
acunningham@vermontartscouncil.org http://vermontcreativenetwork.org
Amy is the new deputy director of the Vermont Arts Council. Her responsibilities include coordinating the Vermont Creative Network. She was previously the director of community programs at the Vermont Humanities Council, where she organized grant programs, administered an annual conference, and developed several new initiatives. She has been executive director of Everybody Wins! Vermont, and director of education and public programs at the Vermont Historical Society. Amy serves on several local boards in Montpelier.

Jason Day; Star Wind Turbines, LLC
jasonday@starwindturbines.com www.starwindturbines.com
Jason A. Day is the owner and managing member of Star Wind Turbines, with a BSEE Engineering degree. His background involves manufacturing of propellers and drive control systems for experimental aircraft and vertical takeoff drones. Customers included U.S. Marine Corp and Israeli Army. As a manager at Mitsubishi Electronics he was involved in the production high reliability electrical power systems for satellites. Founded 2012, Star Wind Turbines has been developing new small wind turbine technologies that make more energy in low winds with less sound. The shop is located in East Dorset, VT and is the center for prototype development. The low sound turbines mounted on hydraulic lifted towers can be seen along VT Route 7. Visitors are welcome.

Brittany Dunn; 350VT
Brittany is an educator and artist living in Burlington Vermont. She attended the University of Vermont where she majored in Environmental Studies and minored in Studio Art. Brittany worked in community-based non-profits after graduating from college where she focused on environmental education and community organizing. Brittany has been involved in climate justice campaigns with 350VT and has planned and facilitated workshops on climate justice throughout Vermont.

Alex Escher; Escher Design
aescher100@gmail.com www.escherdesigninc.com
A graduate of College Conservatory of Music (CCM) in Cincinnati, Alex was living and auditioning in New York when he started researching industrial hemp. He attended a number of entrepreneur events and quickly realized that very few people were familiar with the sustainable, carbon negative properties of this ancient plant with over 25,000 uses. He joined Escher Design and, together, the father-and-son team are in the process of developing a mold, mildew, pest and fire resistant hemp product for the construction industry. He misses New York, but business travel, workshops and conferences have increased substantially this past year. For a former ski racer, Vermont is the perfect home base, for now.

Bob Escher, AIA; Escher Design
bob@escherdesigninc.com www.escherdesigninc.com
Recipient of the first permitted hemp structure in Denver, Bob Escher AIA, follows a long family tradition of innovation, creativity and cutting edge technology. He hails from a long line of builders and engineers whose projects include New York’s original Yankee Stadium and Switzerland’s Gotthard Tunnel. Bob was introduced to hemp by his son, Alex, a graduate of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. Together, they are exploring new types of bio-composites that will make hemp construction faster and easier. Their goal is to develop a sustainable, cost effective building system prototype that exceeds energy conservation code requirements. In the process, they will help establish national certification standards and permitting requirements for hemp construction in the US. A practicing architect for 30 years in Dorset Vermont, Bob’s residential and commercial designs have been built in a number of states including, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida and Vermont. Upcoming hemp-based projects are scheduled for construction this coming year in Oregon, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Colorado and Vermont.

Josh Fox; International Wow Company
info@internationalwow.org www.internationalwow.com
Josh Fox made “fracking” a household word with his debut documentary Gasland, the film that started the anti-fracking movement worldwide, which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the 2010 Special Jury Prize for Documentary. In June of 2010, it premiered on HBO to an audience of 4 million homes and was also viewed by over 250,000 audience members during a subsequent 250-city grassroots tour. The film was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for best documentary and won a 2011 Emmy Award for Best Non-Fiction Director, among numerous other awards.

Lina Hanson; Yoga Prana Shakti
linacloffe@hotmail.com www.YogaPranaShakti.com
Instructor Parvati Lina Hanson, RYT E-500, is an experienced yoga teacher who has practiced yoga for over 30 years. As a teacher for close to 20 years she has taught several thousands of classes and connected with thousands of students from all walks of life. She warmly welcomes you to join in her practice, Yoga Prana Shakti, a spiritual and energetic physical practice She moved from Sweden in 1997 to NYC to pursue her acting career, where she both studied and performed as an actress /singer /dancer. The singing is something she can sometimes bring to Yoga by Chanting. To be living closer to nature, she and her husband their young son happily relocated to Vermont in 2008. Currently Parvati is offering most of her classes in Rutland, VT and she also offers different Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation classes, workshops, master classes and private sessions in the area.

Brian Just; Efficiency Vermont
bjust@veic.org www.efficiencyvermont.com
Brian manages Efficiency Vermont’s Residential New Construction team and works on a variety of energy efficiency initiatives at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. He is a mechanical engineer by trade who, after beginning his career designing and installing custom test equipment, slowly shifted his focus to energy and health. While obtaining his master’s degree at the University of British Columbia, Brian researched biomass combustion and indoor air quality. He is RESNET, Passive House (CPHC), and LEED accredited professional certified.

Jason Kass; Toilets for People
jason@toiletsforpeople.com www.toiletsforpeople.com
Jason is Founder and President of Toilets for People (TFP), a non-profit/social business hybrid organization, created in 2012, that designs and manufactures waterless composting toilets. In the USA, TFP serves the private off-grid and Tiny Home owner market. In the developing world, TFP serves organizations working in international development and disaster relief that are serving people living in flood prone and waterlogged areas where conventional sanitation technologies like pit latrines, above-ground vault latrines, flush toilets and chemical port-a-potties fail. TFP offers on-location training to local craftsmen on how to build composting toilets using local, affordable materials. TFP is the intersection of appropriate technology and sleek, attractive design & seeking a higher quality of life for our customers and advancing global development. Jason, an environmental engineer by trade, has 15 years’ experience in water, sanitation and environmental cleanup. Jason has been applying his skills to international development since joining Engineers without Borders in 2006. Since then, he has worked on water and sanitation projects in Peru, El Salvador, Senegal, Mexico, Nicaragua and Haiti. Jason received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Tufts University in Environmental Engineering and lives in Jamaica, Vermont.

Mike Kiernan; Bee the Change
mtleki@gmail.com www.beethechangehoney.com
Physician and Instructor in Persuasive Communication at Middlebury College since 2008 in all areas related to communication: storymaking, crisis management, pitching, networking, and strategic presentation design and delivery. He has also worked as a communications consultant with political candidates, physicians, business executives and teams on leadership retreats. Mike is an actor and member of the local professional theater company, the Middlebury Actors Workshop. He is also an Emergency Department physician at Porter Hospital in Middlebury, VT. He is founder of Bee the Change which began planting for pollinators in Vermont solar fields in 2015 and is now engaged with projects across the region.

Tawnya Kiernan; Bee the Change
tawnyakiernan@gmail.com www.beethechangehoney.com
Tawnya Kiernan is a Master Gardener and plantsperson for Bee the Change.

Cathy Kristofferson; Stop NED
ckmail@verizon.net http://mapowerforward.com/
Cathy is a Conservation Commissioner in Ashby, MA and a member of the town’s New Energy Resources Committee responsible for Solarize Ashby. She is co-founder of Stop NED formed to oppose the Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline proposal and a member of Mass Power Forward, a statewide coalition working for a clean energy future for all.

Bill Laberge; Grassroots Solar, Inc
bill@grassrootssolar.com www.Grassrootssolar.com
Bill is the owner of Grassroot Solar, Inc. in Dorset, VT. He helps provide solar and storage solutions for homes and businesses from Vermont to Puerto Rico. He recently served on Vermont Governors Climate Action Commission, making recommendations on ways Vermont can help stop Climate Change. He is also President of the Board of SolarFest.

Karen Lee; Solar Pro
solarprovermont@gmail.com solarprovermont.com
Karen Lee has been employed in the solar energy business as co-owner of Solar Pro since 2008. She has designed more than 100 commercial and residential solar systems in southwestern Vermont. As a former finance professional, Ms. Lee has many years of analyzing business investments. As a lifelong conservation activist, she understands the importance of renewable energy for our community.

Chris Martenson; CM and Company, LLC
chris@peakprosperity.com www.peakprosperity.com
A former scientist (PhD, Duke) and Fortune 300 executive (MBA, Cornell), Chris is an economic researcher, author & futurist specializing in energy and resource depletion. Chris is in the dot-connecting business. He studies macro trends through his proprietary analytical framework based on the interdependence of the “Three E’s – the Economy, Energy & the Environment” and uses this lens to assess the probable impact of current developments in the markets, geo-politics and society. Knowing that the problems and predicaments we face are less a function of introducing people to the right information and more a function of communicating and dismantling existing beliefs. To that end, he has devoted years to the art and science of effective communication and has attracted a very diverse and broad international following.

Robert McBride; Vermont Arts Council
ramp@sover.net www.ramp-vt.org
Robert serves as the Southern Vermont “zone agent” for the Vermont Creative Network. A native of California, he received his B.A. in Painting from the University of California at Berkeley and then moved to New York City where he received his M.F.A. from Hunter College. He was a founding member in the late 1970’s of PS 122 (Painting Space), an alternative art space on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Since 1982 he’s lived in Bellows Falls Vermont and is founder of The Rockingham Arts and Museum Project (RAMP) www.ramp-vt.org committed to integrating artists and the arts into the long-term sustainability of the community by creating effective partnerships that initiate and support: accessibility, affordable housing for artists, artist town meetings and public art initiatives.

Roy Morrison; Roy Morrison and Associatesroy.morrison114@yahoo.com www.dual-cropping.com www.EcoCivilization.info
Roy has decades of experience as energy consultant, author, activist. His latest book is Sustainability Sutra, Select, Books, NY 2017. He is working now on dual-cropping, installing PV on working farms on poles; on innovative financial tools using tax equity to develop sustainable local ownership of renewables; and on developing and implementing local plans for reaching globally sustainable carbon emissions of 3 tons carbon dioxide equivalents per person per year combined with carbon sequestration in soil and biomass.

Pete O’Connor; Plug In America
poconnor@pluginamerica.org www.pluginamerica.org
Pete works for Plug In America in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, promoting policies and programs that will transform the transportation sector and encourage more EVs on the road. Prior to his work at Plug In America, Pete was a post-doctoral fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), researching how electric vehicles and renewable energy can work together on the grid. He has over ten years of experience working on energy and environmental policy and technology issues. He holds a Ph.D. in Geography from Boston University, where he completed a dissertation on energy transitions in societies. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Harvard University.

Candace Pearson Candace.e.pearson@gmail.com
Candace is currently a student at Vermont Law School where she is studying how to draft Integrated Project Delivery contracts for high performance buildings. Candace got her start as a writer at BuildingGreen, Inc. where she published articles spanning from healthy materials to indoor air quality. As she moved into consulting, she began facilitating integrative process workshops and was amazed by how offering building professionals the chance to collaborate resulted in a better project all-around. She since worked to execute the first Integrated Project Delivery contract in New England for the construction of a circus trapezium in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Jane Pekol; 350VT
Jane was introduced to organizing and nonviolent direct action as a freshman at Penn State University participating in the Kyoto Now! Campaign for PSU to adopt the carbon reduction targets of the Kyoto Protocol. She trained with Greenpeace and worked on the Kleercut campaign, urging Penn State Purchasing to drop paper products from companies that were destroying ancient forests. (Greenpeace won the Kleercut campaign in 2009!) Jane received an Associate’s degree in Building Construction and worked in Weatherization and currently in affordable housing and community development. Jane has been a proud member of Central Vermont Climate Action (a 350Vermont node) since its start in 2015. She lives in Northfield with her four doggies, flock of ducks, and husband.

Laura Simon; Upper Valley Affinity Group simonlaura06@gmail.com
Social worker, teacher activist and musician Laura has been working on environmental issues the past 20 years including trying to stop the fracked gas pipelines in VT and Mass.

Rachel Smolker; Biofuelwatch
rsmolker@gmail.com www.protectgeprags.org
Rachel speaks about the fight against VT Gas pipeline including safety issues. She has a decade of experience working nationally and internationally on climate, energy, biodiversity and land use issues. She is also a founder of Protect Geprags Park, an ad-hoc group based in Hinesburg Vermont that has been challenging the Vermont Gas ANGP pipeline.

Irvine Sobelman; Sugar Shack Alliance
Irvine Sobelman, mirvinea@gmail.com www.climateactionnowma.org www.sugarshackalliance.org
Irvine is a Steering Committee member of Climate Action Now Western Mass and a founding member of Sugar Shack Alliance. Since retiring from nursing she has been a full-time organizer in Western Mass, opposing new fossil fuel infrastructure and promoting a transition to a renewal energy future. She was engaged in opposition to the NED and Connecticut Expansion Pipeline Projects, and is now working on opposition to the Columbia Gas proposal to build out additional gas infrastructure in Western Mass.

Rainbow Squier; Theater in the Woods Vermont Co.theaterinthewoodsvt.org
Rainbow grew up with SolarFest and originated many roles in the woods.

Connor Stedman; AppleSeed Permaculture
connor@appleseedpermaculture.com www.appleseedpermaculture.com
Connor is an ecological design and farm planner working to support carbon farming adoption alongside farm viability in the Northeast US and beyond. He consults on regenerative agriculture and land use around the region and speaks regularly on carbon farming and land-based climate mitigation strategies around North America. Connor is principal and head designer at AppleSeed Permaculture and holds an M.S. in Ecological Planning from the University of Vermont.

Mel Tyree; EcoRenewables R&C, LLC mtyree@hotmail.com
Dr. Melvin T. Tyree is a Professor of Biophysical Plant Ecology and the winner of the Marcus Wallenberg Prize for pioneering research in forestry and forest products. Dr. Tyree’s work gives perspective on the evolution of wood structure and on the distribution of trees in forests around the world, focusing on the architecture and mechanisms of water transport. He is also a member of the SolarFest Advisory Board.

Todd Walker; Greenvest
todd@greenvest.eco www.greenvest.eco
Todd Walker has been a registered Socially Responsible Advisor since 2004 and is a co-founder of Greenvest, a leading Vermont SRI firm based in Wells, VT that serves individuals, businesses and institutions. Todd has been a frequent speaker over the years on social/impact investing, and serves on the Finance and Investment Committees of the Board of Trustees of Green Mountain College, Poultney, VT.

Jeremy N. Warrenj3warren@gmail.com www.adifferentspin.net/workshops.html
Jeremy has worked for the past twelve years as a circus and fire artist performing for corporate, arts, educational, and military events across North America, and has taught thousands of people to juggle at schools, festivals, and gatherings large and small. A few months ago he moved to Vermont with his wife, and now he’s thrilled to bring his talents to Solarfest and the Green Mountain State.

Helena Wu; Mama Wu’s Good Medicine Mamawu@mamawusgoodmedicine.com
Helena is a retired homebirth midwife, flower essence, herbal and Reiki practitioner. She feels the urgency of passing on traditional knowledge and skills to the next generation.

Li Ling Young; Vermont Energy Investment Corp
lyoung@veic.org www.efficiencyvermont.com
Li Ling Young is a Senior Energy Consultant with over 15 years of experience in VEIC’s Engineering Division. Her work includes project management, analysis, and verification and measurement for statewide residential work. She specializes in healthy homes, “zero energy” retrofits, and training for builders, residents, and other energy professionals in building science, energy conservation, and high-performance construction.